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Experimental investigation of the vortical activity in the close wake of a simplified military transport aircraft

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Abstract

This paper focuses on the experimental characterization of the vortex structures that develop in the aft fuselage region and in the wake of a simplified geometry of a military transport aircraft. It comes within the framework of the military applications of airflow influence on airdrop operations. This work relies on particle image velocimetry measurements combined with a vortex-tracking approach. Complex vortex dynamics is revealed, in terms of vortex positions, intensities, sizes, shapes and fluctuation levels, for both closed and opened cargo-door and ramp airdrop configurations.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the French Ministry of Defence and the DGA for supporting this work. They are also thankful to the S4 wind tunnel staff for their technical support and to Richard Charles (US Army/Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center), Scott A. Morton (US Air Force/Eglin AFB), Keith Bergeron (USAFA/DFAN), Mick Vallence (RAF/JATEU) and Manfred Seeger (IABG, chairman of the AIA project) for their collaborative effort within the AIA project.

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Correspondence to Yannick Bury.

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Bury, Y., Jardin, T. & Klöckner, A. Experimental investigation of the vortical activity in the close wake of a simplified military transport aircraft. Exp Fluids 54, 1524 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-013-1524-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-013-1524-4

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